Engines near ready for NASA's next Space Launch System mission

This animation released in 2011 shows the design of NASA's Space Launch System that could be used to take humans to the moon, Mars and beyond. (NASA)

This animation released in 2011 shows the design of NASA's Space Launch System that could be used to take humans to the moon, Mars and beyond. (NASA)

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This animation released in 2011 shows the design of NASA's Space Launch System that could be used to take humans to the moon, Mars and beyond. (NASA)

This animation released in 2011 shows the design of NASA's Space Launch System that could be used to take humans to the moon, Mars and beyond. (NASA)

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SpaceX Falcon Heavy fans talk about the excitement of witnessing history during their visit to Playalinda Beach, Fla. in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

SpaceX Falcon Heavy fans talk about the excitement of witnessing history during their visit to Playalinda Beach, Fla. in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

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The crowd cheers at Playalinda Beach in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, during the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

The crowd cheers at Playalinda Beach in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, during the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

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On Jan. 16, 2018, engineers at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi conducted a certification test of another RS-25 engine flight controller on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center. Once certified, the flight controller will be removed and installed on a flight engine for use by NASA’s new deep-space rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).

On Jan. 16, 2018, engineers at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi conducted a certification test of another RS-25 engine flight controller on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center. Once certified, the flight controller will be removed and installed on a flight engine for use by NASA’s new deep-space rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).

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In a test targeted for April 2019 known as Ascent Abort-2, NASA will verify the Orion spacecraft’s launch abort system, a tower on top of the crew module, can steer the capsule and astronauts inside it to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during ascent for deep-space missions.

In a test targeted for April 2019 known as Ascent Abort-2, NASA will verify the Orion spacecraft’s launch abort system, a tower on top of the crew module, can steer the capsule and astronauts inside it to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during ascent for deep-space missions.

While NASA's massive Space Launch System won't be taking off from Cape Canaveral until at least 2019, its engines are close to ready.

The four RS-25 engines that have been assembled and tested in the past year at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama will now be sent to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to be hooked up with the massive core stage and tested before it all makes its way to Kennedy Space Center.

“NASA’s priority is to deliver hardware for the first flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft,” said John Honeycutt, SLS program manager at Marshall Space Flight Center.

Aerojet Rocketdyne photo

All four RS-25 engines that will power SLS for its first flight are ready to be integrated with the rocket's core stage. They will be sent to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where they will be attached to the core stage before a green run test that will verify that the system is ready for flight.

All four RS-25 engines that will power SLS for its first flight are ready to be integrated with the rocket's core stage. They will be sent to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where they will be attached to the core stage before a green run test that will verify that the system is ready for flight.

(Aerojet Rocketdyne photo)

The engines are the leftovers from the space shuttle program, having been flown on 21 missions, but now upgraded to support the new NASA rocket that will launch the Orion crew capsule. Before they head to Kennedy, the engines will undergo torque testing, leak checks, and an avionics software check.

No manned launch of Orion will take place until at least 2022, but more likely 2023. The unmanned Exploration Mission 1 for the Space Launch System is planned no earlier than 2019.

The four engines headed to New Orleans are part of 16 engines that helped support the 135 missions of the space shuttle era. Several have been used for testing in the last year to ensure new controllers work properly. NASA has also ordered six new RS-25 engines from Aerojet Rocketdyne for use in future missions.

“NASA has transformed these phenomenal engines that served so well in the past for a new bold mission -- the first integrated launch of SLS and Orion,” said Steve Wofford, the SLS liquid engines manager at Marshall. “For engines needed beyond the first four flights, we are working with our industry partner Aerojet Rockedyne to streamline manufacturing and make future engines more affordable.”

Meanwhile, the core stage that will be taller than a 20-story building and hold more than 700,000 gallons of propellant, is in production, with the welding completed on its liquid hydrogen tank marking the last of its five parts that will now be assembled. Those also include the liquid oxygen tanks, engine section where the RS-25 engines will be housed, the intertank and the forward skirt.

A full-scale mockup of the core stage has also been produced to ensure everything goes smoothly for when the actual core stage is ready for transportation to Kennedy Space Center via barge.

“This rocket is happening now,” said Honeycutt. “The Space Launch System team has made great progress and has an exciting year ahead as NASA conducts crucial structural tests at Marshall, assembles the core stage and the four RS-25 engines at Michoud and delivers more hardware to the launch pad at Kennedy.”

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SpaceX Falcon Heavy fans talk about the excitement of witnessing history during their visit to Playalinda Beach, Fla. in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

SpaceX Falcon Heavy fans talk about the excitement of witnessing history during their visit to Playalinda Beach, Fla. in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

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SpaceX Falcon Heavy fans talk about the excitement of witnessing history during their visit to Playalinda Beach, Fla. in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

SpaceX Falcon Heavy fans talk about the excitement of witnessing history during their visit to Playalinda Beach, Fla. in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

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The Florida's Space Coast 2018 forecast is expected to be one of the more important in recent memory thanks to companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX.

The Florida's Space Coast 2018 forecast is expected to be one of the more important in recent memory thanks to companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX.

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The crowd cheers at Playalinda Beach in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, during the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

The crowd cheers at Playalinda Beach in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, during the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

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The SpaceX Falcon Heavy performed a static fire of all 27 of its engines at Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39-A on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018.

The SpaceX Falcon Heavy performed a static fire of all 27 of its engines at Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39-A on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018.

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While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet.

While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet.